Drivers who kill could face life behind bars after the government announced plans to cut the number of tragedies on our roads.

The death by dangerous driving penalty is to be raised from the 14-year maximum to a maximum life sentence deter speeders and people who use their mobile phones at the wheel. And careless drivers who kill while on drink or drugs will also face life.

The move comes after government ministers were deluged by 9,000 submissions from victims, bereaved families and road safety campaigners calling for tougher sentencing. Many were furious the maximum was rarely imposed.

In February, the family of a great-great grandmother killed in a horrific lorry crash on the A30 near Bodmin was one of those calling for tougher sentences.

At the time resident Truro Crown Court Judge Robert Linford said courts faced a dilemma in sentencing such cases, to balance the loss of a life against the previous good character of many convicted drivers.

Jeanette Wattmore and her son-in-law Lesley West, pictured here on holiday near St Ives, just a few days before she was killed by a lorry driver on the A30 near Bodmin

The court heard how car transporter driver Joseph David Smith had been using his phone to send and read messages and browse webpages shortly before the fatal collision. In the seconds before the crash, on May 27 last year, he had been tuning his radio and admitted he had not noticed traffic slowing for roadworks ahead.

The former soldier smashed into the back of a stationary car, killing Jeanette Wattmore, 79, and severely injuring her daughter, son-in-law and two other motorists.

As an example of Smith’s good character, the court had heard how he had climbed on to an overturned van at the crash scene to help pull an injured driver to safety.

In sentencing Smith to two years and eight months in prison, Judge Linford said: “These are without doubt the most difficult cases a judge has to sentence because there can never be a balance between a lost life on the one hand and your good character on the other.”

Joseph David Smith, 30, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving after crashing his lorry on the A30 near Bodmin

Mrs Wattmore’s family said at the time that the sentence was an ‘insult’ and said: “Killing someone is manslaughter, but death by dangerous driving is a motoring offence. We think the law needs to be changed to stop people using their mobile phones while driving.

“There is far too much of this going on and they do need to change the law or we’re going to see a lot more people losing their loved ones as well.”

In this particular case, Smith’s sentence was later increased to three years and eight months by judges at the Court of Appeal in London.

Read More

Latest figures now show 157 motorists were convicted of causing death by dangerous driving last year in England, and 32 of causing death by careless driving while drunk or drugged. Now the offences will be put on a par with manslaughter.

Justice minister Dominic Raab said: “We’ve taken a long hard look at driving sentences. Based on the seriousness of the worst cases, we intend to introduce life sentences for those who wreck lives.”

There will also be a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving which will carry a prison sentence. Under existing law, careless driving carries a maximum penalty of a fine. The new sentences will come into force as soon as ministers can find Parliamentary time.

Other examples in Cornwall include the death of a couple in May last year, who were knocked down by a drink-driver.

Truro Crown Court heard Ryan Morrish, who was then 27, tried to frame his friend and claimed his Audi S4 had been stolen minutes after he struck Ann Varran and Calvin Trevena at about 60mph.

The grandparents who had been together for 28 years were walking home to Scorrier along the B3277 between St Agnes and Chiverton Cross, having spent the evening with friends after St Agnes Carnival.

Ryan Morrish who was jailed for six years (Image: Devon and Cornwall Police)

The court heard Morrish, a friend of the couple's family who had been on a group skiing holiday with them last year, left them to die. Morrish, who had been drinking throughout the previous evening, did not call for an ambulance and set to work covering up his involvement.

Read More

In August last year, a coach driver was sentenced after crashing a coach full of pensioners on an Age Concern outing to Looe while he was talking on a mobile phone. Two people died in the crash.

Martin Chun, then aged 60, was at the wheel of a coach carrying 51 passengers on a day trip from Exmouth on May 13, 2014 when it ploughed into a hedge in Morval, sending bits of tree and debris into the vehicle and across the road.

He had denied causing the deaths of Margaret Luxton, 59, from Exmouth, and Carol Muldoon, 68, from Newton Poppleford by careless or dangerous driving.

Martin Chun was jailed for five years (Image: Devon and Cornwall Police)

Chun, who is from the Exeter area, was having a phone conversation with his son at the time of the crash using a hands-free mobile, and prosecutor Stephen Mooney told the jury he was in a "telephone-induced stupor".